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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Following a 107-32 romp over Crowley's
Ridge in the season opener, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball
team is prepared for a much tougher challenge on Thursday evening
when it hosts Coastal Carolina in a match-up of similarly styled
teams.

Setting the Stage
The Golden Eagles will face off against the Chanticleers for just
the fourth time in program history on Thursday, returning the
back-end of a home-and-home series following last season's match-up
in Tech's annual Sears Bracket Buster Game.

Tech took last year's game in Conway, S.C. with a 77-71
nail-biter over a team that has shown a consistent ability to
contend for the Big South title since the welcoming of head coach
Cliff Ellis, the ninth-winningest active coach in all of Division I
basketball. In Coastal Carolina's season opener, Ellis became just
the second coach in NCAA Division I history to win 100 or more
games at four different institutions.

The series between the Golden Eagles and Chanticleers was born
in the 1987-88 season. The teams played a home-and-home series that
season, with Coastal Carolina claiming a 91-80 win at home. Since
the opener, the series has been owned by Tech, which won the second
meeting 70-64 in Cookeville that same year.

If Golden Eagle fans think that Coastal Carolina's head coach
Cliff Ellis looks a tad familiar, that's because Tech has faced the
legend four times in program history. While at South Alabama, Ellis
coached his team to two victories over the Golden Eagles, a 97-68
decision in 1979-80 and a 67-48 win in 1980-81.

Tech exacted revenge on the coach during the 1984-85 season,
pulling off an incredible upset over Ellis' Clemson
squad. With just three seconds to play, Tech's
Jon Miller grabbed an offensive weak side rebound and banked in the
put-back shot to take down the Tigers, 68-67, with no time left on
the clock.

Coastal Carolina owns a 1-1 record this season, falling to the
Ole Miss Rebels in a Tuesday night showdown, 90-72, despite owning
a 39-36 halftime advantage. In their season opener, the
Chanticleers grabbed an impressive overtime victory over preseason
Mid-American Conference favorite Akron. The 74-70 victory was just
another indicator of how good this Coastal Carolina team can be and
what they pose coming into Thursday's match-up against the Golden
Eagles.

The Golden Eagles will set their sights on stopping senior guard
Anthony Raffa. Through the first two games for the Chanticleers,
Raffa is averaging 22.5 points and six boards.

Coastal Carolina will work on limiting senior guard Jud Dillard, who
scored 25 points in the Golden Eagles' season opening 107-32 win
over Crowley's Ridge. Sophomore guard Javon McKay will look
to play havoc on the Chanticleers' defense after posting a
double-double in the first game of the season.